The Cat Who Smelled a Rat - Softcover

Lilian J Braun

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747265054 ISBN 13: 9780747265054

Publisher: Headline Paperbacks, 2001

Synopsis

October arrives in Moose County on the heels of a long drought, and the citizens of Pickax worry about wildfires. Their fears are realised in an unexpected manner, with a case of arson -- and the shooting of a volunteer fire-watcher as he is reporting the blaze. The crime wave continues as the president of the curling club is pushed to his death down a flight of stairs, and it's up to Qwilleran and Co. to sniff out the rat who is responsible for it all.

About this title

Review:

Moose County journalist and philanthropist James Qwilleran, better known to fans of Lilian Jackson Braun's evergreen series of feline-inspired thrillers as the owner of a couple of remarkably prescient Siamese cats named Koko and Yum Yum, is comfortably ensconced in his winter residence in Pickax at the beginning of The Cat Who Smelled a Rat. But he and the other citizens start hoping for snow when a series of arson fires threaten their safety as well as the historically significant shafthouses that sit atop the long-closed mine sites scattered throughout the county.

Qwilleran and his pets take quite a while to connect the fires with the death of a local builder in a seemingly unrelated accident. But his leisurely jaunt to the conclusion of this lightly plotted adventure leaves plenty of room for the author to do what she does best, which is sketching the picaresque characters who people Pickax and dwelling on the small-town charms of a place where everybody knows everything about everybody. The cats are quicker to solve a crime than the local constabulary. Only Koko could find the clues hidden in an antique pitcher and an old-fashioned glove box, and only a cat lover could consider this a mystery or even a romance. There's no suspense, very little drama, hardly any blood, and not even a hint of sex between Qwilleran and his lady. But Braun's fans are legion, so we know she must be doing something right. --Jane Adams

About the Author:

Lilian Jackson Braun began writing her Cat Who... detective series when one of her own Siamese cats mysteriously fell to its death from her apartment block. Since then over twenty Cat Who... novels have been published, all featuring the very talented Koko and Yum Yum. She and her husband, Earl, live in the mountains of North Carolina.

About this edition

• Publisher: Headline Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0747265054
• ISBN 13: 9780747265054
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224